Unilateral trade preferences granted by industrialized countries are a common and widely used instrument to foster exports from developing countries, thereby stimulating economic growth and alleviating poverty. The European Union (EU)’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) is one of the most generous schemes worldwide, offering tariff preferences for about 6,200 tariff lines to 176 countries. The authors are of the view that the current EU’s GSP scheme contains some fundamental flaws, in particular with respect to the selection of beneficiary countries and the graduation mechanism. The ongoing reform of the EU’s scheme provides a unique opportunity for overhauling the system as such and targeting trade preferences to those countries that mostly need them. The European Parliament being a new player at the table when it comes to trade policy legislation will certainly shape the reform.
Global Trade and Customs Journal